Retail giants Walmart And Amazon are responding to consumer fears about holiday spending by rolling out more deals sooner.

Walmart announced the launch of its on Thursday (October 17). Thanksgiving meal deal for less than $7 per person for eight people. It includes turkey, sides and dessert and comes amid increased demand for early savings deals due to consumer concerns about food prices. These concerns remain and are a cost factor for many essential items remains elevated despite the overall decline in inflation.

“As food prices remain above Spirit, “More customers want to start saving earlier and during the holiday season,” Walmart said in a statement. “From October 14th through December 25th, Walmart is bringing back its inflation-free Thanksgiving meal at a lower price than last year to help customers save without compromising on quality.”

Meanwhile, Amazon focused its deals on the December holidays. The e-commerce giant announced the return of its early holiday beauty deals event on Monday (October 14). Amazon Holiday Beauty Haulwhich runs for two weeks from October 21st to November 3rd and offers “thousands” of discounts. These include skin care, cosmetics, hair care, fragrance and nail products from various well-known brands such as: bareMinerals, clinic, Kiehls, Lancome, Maybelline, Revlon and other.

Faced with financial challenges, consumers are willing to bring forward their holiday spending. The PYMNTS Intelligence Report “Given lower inflation, consumers are cautiously spending more“ examined how financial pressure influenced gift purchases during the last holiday season. It found that of the 77% of consumers who bought gifts during the 2023 holidays, 56% had most or all of their purchases planned before they went shopping.

Overall, many buyers face financial difficulties. consumer difficulties According to “How consumers experience financial lifestyle mobility” Part of the PYMNTS Intelligence series “New Reality Check: The Paycheck-to-Paycheck Report.” In August, a quarter of consumers living paycheck to paycheck had difficulty paying their bills, reaching the highest level since September 2021. Additionally, 27% of consumers reported a decline in financial mobility The last two years. 52 percent of these people cited the rising cost of living as the main reason.

The announcements from Walmart and Amazon mark the latest steps in their ongoing push to position themselves as the solution to the worries of previous vacation planners. Earlier this month, Walmart launched its earliest store yet Walmart holiday deals The event pointed to findings that half of consumers would start their holiday shopping as early as August and September.

Amazon also held its two-day event focused on the holidays Prime Big Deal Days Sales event. The latter proved to be Amazon’s biggest October yet Shopping event.

“Our 2024 Prime Big Deal Days event marked a strong start to the holiday shopping season with record-breaking sales and participation from Prime members worldwide,” said Worldwide CEO of Amazon Stores Doug Herrington said in a statement. “This is just the beginning of great deals from Amazon during the holiday shopping season.”

The race between Walmart and Amazon reflects the growing importance of early holiday deals amid economic uncertainty. As consumers grapple with increased living costs, both retailers are trying to secure customer loyalty by offering discounts well ahead of the traditional shopping season. With financial pressures requiring early planning, these moves highlight the evolving holiday market landscape, where timing and savings are becoming increasingly important to capture shoppers’ attention.